Chelsea and Evan hosted their reggae themed wedding at a gas station turned country bar in Woodland, CA. Their day was laid back, unique and most of all fun for everyone who was there!
“One day we were drinking mimosas around our apartment in San Francisco with two of Evan’s best friends, and kind of joking, they decided it would be really cool if we had a reggae-themed wedding”, explained the bride. “In the spirit of compromise, I said no to a watermark of Haile Selassi on the invitation but did incorporate the red/green/yellow colors into the stationery and hired the coolest funk/reggae/soul band from the bay.”
“We wanted the day to be very unique,” she continued. “Our worst nightmare was a cookie-cutter wedding. A big part of making it different was the venue. We chose Plainfield Station, a gas stationed turned country bar with a huge backyard, and they’ve never had a wedding before. I’d link to them but they don’t even have a website. It’s the kind of place that you wonder if you are on Mars as you’re driving to it, and when you get there, it all makes sense and you never want to leave.”
“We both loved the hours before the wedding – Evan spent the afternoon at his best friends’ house in Davis, drinking beers with the guys and feeding the backyard chickens. I basically ‘received’ my guests all day – my grandma, my siblings, my baby niece and nephew, other family friends, and all my closest girlfriends stopped by, and I wish every day could be like that! In terms of the wedding itself, we loved walking around, saying hi to friends and family, and being able to see how much fun everyone was having.”
“Our biggest expenses were booze, lights, and music, without them, you have nothing, and with them, you have all you need! I tended to de-emphasize décor (it was easy because the venue is so beautiful and cool, both inside and out). The only real décor we had was flowers and we DIYed them. My friend Cameron is a talented florist and she did DIY flowers by going to the flower mart and pulling a team together of our family and friends to help assemble the day before the wedding. They looked beautiful and were perfectly in theme. I don’t think anyone knew they were Dollar Tree vases. We also almost forewent dessert entirely and at the last minute just ordered a couple hundred mini cupcakes, which were delicious and inexpensive.”
“Our advice to future brides and grooms would be to question wedding norms”, she concluded. “Does a bouquet toss matter to you? Will your guests really eat dessert? Do you want to be stressed about seating charts? Think about you and your fiancé, your friends, your family, and tailor your wedding accordingly. It will feel unique and special, and you and your guests will have more fun.”
